Thanksgiving

THANKSGIVING

For those in the know, the first Thanksgiving in the U.S. was in 1607, and it wasn't established as a holiday until George Washington, our first president, declared it so in 1789. It seems to have taken some sad turns, though, as more than two centuries have passed since the days of George Washington, and I would like to make it glaringly apparent here.

First, it had taken on a wrap of commercialism in the first century and a half. Even now, it is a big deal in grocery stores and supermarkets across the country, and even Canada has a Thanksgiving a month earlier than ours, but I think the U.S. has them beat on commercialism of the occasion. The rest of the retail sector, however, has ignored giving thanksgiving much advertising, as they haven't been able to make a big financial happening out of it, and they go straight from Halloween to Christmas in their campaigns to raise money from holidays. Yes, from about the 60s to present, thanksgiving and giving thanks to God have taken a back seat, if not being ignored completely, by the retail sector in regards to the last Thursday in November. At this point I would like to go over reasons for giving thanksgiving to God, and why this holiday should be important to Christians to celebrate, thinking of God and His benefits and accomplishments in our behalf.

1 Chron. 16:7 - 8 has it that David delivered a psalm of thanks to Asaph and his brethren; "Then on that day David delivered first this psalm to thank the LORD into the hand of Asaph and his brethren. Give thanks unto the LORD, call upon His name, make known His deeds among the people." When we call on the Lord and ask Him for things, and He grants them, shouldn't we thank Him? Consider Christ's answer when He healed the ten lepers; "And as He entered into a certain village, there met Him ten men that were lepers, which stood afar off: And they lifted up their voices, and said, 'Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.' And when He saw them, He said unto them, 'Go shew yourselves unto the priests.' And it came to pass, that, as they went, they were cleansed. And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, and with a loud voice glorified God, and fell down on his face at His feet, giving Him thanks: and he was a Samaritan. And Jesus answering said, 'Were there not ten cleansed? But where are the nine? There are not found that returned to give glory to God, save this stranger.' And He said unto him, 'Arise, go thy way: thy faith hath made thee whole.'" (Luke 17:12-19) I would think, had they heard Him, that the other nine would be embarrassed and ashamed. Should we not also be, if we forget to thank Him for any thing He has done for us?

David reminds us of other reasons to give God thanksgiving in 2 Sam. 22:48 - 50; "It is God that avengeth me, and that bringeth down the people under me, and that bringeth me forth from mine enemies: Thou also hast lifted me up on high above them that rose up against me: Thou hast delivered me from the violent man. Therefore I will give thanks unto Thee, O LORD, among the heathen, and I will sing praises unto Thy name." Has God ever allowed you to escape your enemies? From people who wanted to hurt you in any way? (Maybe they had circumstances come about later that they were miserable from) And perhaps God should get the thanks that it came to pass? Apparently David felt so. And note how David says he will thank God "...among the heathens..."? I have gotten rebuke just for bringing up God on Facebook and the internet as a subject to talk about, let alone thanking Him in person in front of heathens!

I suppose among the many first songs of thanksgiving to God, David's were among them; "Sing unto the LORD with thanksgiving; sing praise upon the harp unto our God: who covereth the heaven with clouds, who prepareth rain for the earth, who maketh grass to grow upon the mountains." (Psa. 147:7-8) Not that he was the first, because there was the song of Moses when God crushed pharoah's army under the Red Sea (Exod. 15:1 - 19), and Judg. 5:1 - 31 has the song of Deborah and Barak for thanking the Lord for the avenging of Israel.

1 Cor. 11:24 - 25 has this; "And when He had given thanks, He brake it, and said, 'Take, eat: this is My body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of Me.' After the same manner also He took the cup, when He had supped, saying, 'This cup is the new testament in My blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of Me.'" Note that He gave thanks to the Father for the supper. I thank God for all three of my meals, and even snacks, for many people not only have no snacks, they are fortunate if they have one meal all day!

Thanksgiving is mentioned for the first time in Lev. 7:11 - 15 in reference to the law of peace offerings to God. It was a thanksgiving for answer to prayer, deliverance, healing...it was a way to thank God in a manner He would be pleased with.

Here's a reason for thanksgiving; "And with them Heman and Jeduthun, and the rest that were chosen, who were expressed by name, to give thanks to the LORD, because His mercy endureth for ever; and with them Heman and Jeduthun with trumpets and cymbals for those that should make a sound, and with musical instruments of God..." (1 Chron. 16:41- 42) His mercy endures for ever, and we are particularly keen of this in the blood of Christ Jesus that was shed for us who were otherwise dead in our sins! "And there was one Anna, a prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Aser: she was of a great age, and had lived with an husband seven years from her virginity; and she was a widow of about fourscore and four years, which departed not from the temple, but served God with fastings and prayers night and day. And she coming in that instant gave thanks likewise unto the Lord, and spake of Him to all them that looked for redemption in Jerusalem." (Luke 2:36 - 38) Ah, to be like Anna, thankful to the Lord for the Redeemer she saw with her own eyes!

How often do we think of thanking the Lord? How often did the Levite priests thank Him? "And to stand every morning to thank and praise the LORD, and likewise at even;" (1 Chron. 23:30) I thank Him for every morning I'm alive, because it's another opportunity to serve Him in some way in as many opportunities as the day presents to me.

In the Old Testament days, they gave thanks offerings to God in His house; "Then Hezekiah answered and said, 'Now ye have consecrated yourselves unto the LORD, come near and bring sacrifices and thank offerings into the house of the LORD.' And the congregation brought in sacrifices and thank offerings; and as many as were of a free heart burnt offerings." (2 Chron. 29:31) By the way, these were besides the tithing offerings.

"O give thanks unto the LORD; for He is good: for His mercy endureth for ever. O give thanks unto the God of gods: for His mercy endureth for ever. O give thanks to the Lord of lords: for His mercy endureth for ever." (Psa. 136:1 - 3) His mercy is stressed here by David as something to be thankful for, because without it, who could avoid hell? The entirety of Psa. 136 ends each verse with the fact that His mercy endures forever.

Let it not come upon us that we should forget to thank Him in all things; consider what is written in this passage for the Israelites, should they forget Him; "Beware that thou forget not the LORD thy God, in not keeping His commandments, and His judgments, and His statutes, which I command thee this day: Lest when thou hast eaten and art full, and hast built goodly houses, and dwelt therein; and when thy herds and thy flocks multiply, and thy silver and thy gold is multiplied, and all that thou hast is multiplied; then thine heart be lifted up, and thou forget the LORD thy God, which brought thee forth out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage; who led thee through that great and terrible wilderness, wherein were fiery serpents, and scorpions, and drought, where there was no water; who brought thee forth water out of the rock of flint; who fed thee in the wilderness with manna, which thy fathers knew not, that He might humble thee, and that He might prove thee, to do thee good at thy latter end; and thou say in thine heart, 'My power and the might of mine hand hath gotten me this wealth.' But thou shalt remember the LORD thy God: for it is He that giveth thee power to get wealth, that He may establish His covenant which He sware unto thy fathers, as it is this day." (Deut. 8:11 - 18)

So here we have many ways and reasons to thank the Lord our God, with thank offerings, with magnifying His name, wonders, our deliverance, meals, snacks, healings, with music, singing, and praise. The most dear and precious thing to thank Him for that I can think of is our salvation!

Rasons For Rejoicing

REASONS FOR REJOICING

What makes you happy? What makes the average person rejoice? A check in the mail? Hitting the jackpot in the Publisher's Clearing House? Getting the house all cleaned up before a big party? Your football team winning the Superbowl? The most righteous reason for a Christian rejoicing; yea, the object of your rejoicing is to be in the Lord - (Ps. 33:1) - "Rejoice in the Lord, O ye righteous: for praise is comely for the upright." While we get happy for many reasons, the best reason is this one! The book of Psalms has other reasons, too.

Rejoice because of His gift of salvation - (Ps. 13:5) - "But I have trusted in Thy mercy; my heart shall rejoice in Thy salvation." Indeed, if Christ had not come, even worse, if He was not to come, hell would be so full of souls, without His perfect sacrifice! So praise Him and rejoice indeed for this account, that Jesus indeed came, and we have His perfect sacrifice, that should we believe on Him, we shall have everlasting life!

Rejoice in His mercy - (Ps. 31:7) - "I will rejoice and be glad in Thy mercy: for Thou hast considered my trouble; Thou hast known my soul in adversities..." Just as it says in John 10:27, Jesus knows His sheep, and He has mercy in abundance for us, a mercy which is from everlasting to everlasting, and in this rejoice greatly, for we are redeemed in the mercy of His blood sacrifice for our sins!

Rejoice in His protection - (Ps. 63:7) - "Because Thou hast been my help, therefore in the shadow of Thy wings will I rejoice." - Ps. 61:4 echoes this trust in His protection. Isa. 59:1 declares that God's hand is not shortened that it cannot save, as evidenced in Exod. 14:1-31, wherein is written how He dried up the Red sea for Moses and His people to cross, and thereafter allowed the water to return and drown all Pharaoh's army as they were in hot pursuit! Surely they rejoiced in His protection, and we, too, should rejoice, as we enjoy His protection throughout our lives.

Rejoice in the expectation He will revive us - (Ps. 85:6) - "Wilt Thou not revive us again: that Thy people may rejoice in Thee?" As Habakkuk looked for the same in Hab. 3:2, when we have a great trouble or a multitude of trials and/or tribulations upon us, trust and rejoice in Him who can bring us through all our troubles, and as an example, let us look at Paul. He told of all his trials in 2 Cor. 11:23-33, and Paul was happy to continue in his faith and ministry, knowing the Lord would revive him again, as He did in Acts 14:19-20, left for dead outside the city after a stoning, yet, he got up and the next day went to Derbe with Barnabas! So rejoice in your faith and trust that He will revive you from everything you suffer!

Lastly, Rejoice in His Word and statutes - (Ps. 19:7-9) - "The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple. The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart: the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes. The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring for ever: the judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether." Rejoice in His will, His truth, His commandments, and judgments. His will is for our good, all of us. His truth is a perfect guide for us to live our daily lives, and will never lead us to disaster. (His commandments in practice keep us pleasant in His sight, and His judgments give Him glory and honor in the sight of all His sheep.) Rejoice in all these gifts from God, for just as it is written in Ps. 119:105, "Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path."

The Folly Of Gay Pride

THE FOLLY OF GAY PRIDE

In this message I first want to point out that the Lord is not pleased in any kind of pride to start with, as is given evidence in Prov. 16:18, where it says, "Pride goeth before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall." Also, in Prov. 16:5, "Everyone that is proud in heart is an abomination to the Lord: though hand join in hand, he shall not go unpunished." Let us pray that we not get into the snare of pride, lest we fall into a trap like the one we will illuminate in this message!

Homosexuality was NEVER natural, not for any animals, nor man. God Himself stated it in Genesis; "So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created He him; male and female created He them. And God blessed them, and God said unto them, 'Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.'" (Gen. 1:27 - 28) God clearly stated to be fruitful and multiply. We are not like the worms, who have both sexes and one can impregnate any other. There is no room to transgender, or be transexual, which is even worse!

Gen. 19:1-25 covers the first time God's judgment is recorded against the wicked, who harbor among the many unrepented sins they have being homosexual. Gen. 19:5 specifically covers where the men of Sodom demand of Lot that he bring out the two angels that visited him, that they may know them, which biblically speaking, means they wanted to have intimate relations with them. Their reward for this initially was blindness, followed by fire and brimstone from heaven to the total destruction of their cities!

Among the heinous offenses handed down from God to Moses to the Israelites, Lev. 20:13 pronounces sentence upon a person who lives as a homosexual in that day; "If a man also lie with mankind, as he lieth with a womankind, both of them have committed an abomination: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them." This means they brought it upon themselves to be killed for what they did, and they were stoned to death in those days, a painful way to die. Lev. 18:22 gives the warning, but this verse gives the consequence. Deut. 23:17 echoes the command of God.

Judg. 19:16-20:48 tells the story of worthless men among the Benjamites, men of Belial, who wanted to "know" a man who visited an old man who lived in the land of the Benjamites. What transpired later in this passage of scripture resulted in the Benjamite war; all because of the perverse desires of these men of the Benjamites!

Now if anyone believes the New Testament offers sympathy to the person who chooses this lifestyle, that person is mistaken. Rom. 1:24, 26-32, condemns lesbian and homosexual activities in these verses, and Paul is not done yet. In Rom. 12:9b and 21 he exorts to abhor and overcome evil and cleave to goodness, to overcome evil with goodness. These people can change their lifestyle and be saved, but they must want to change, and go to God with a fervent heart for His help, that He might hear.

"But I say unto you, That whosoever shall put away his wife, saving for the cause of fornication, causeth her to commit adultery: and whosoever shall marry her that is divorced committeth adultery." (Matt. 5:32) I want to make this point not about Jesus teaching about adultery, nor how divorce causes adultery, but rather the fact that Jesus uses the words "his" and "wife" concerning marriage and divorce. This should make it abundantly clear that Jesus does not offer a homosexual option. He never said, "or significant other", because gay marriage is not recognized by God, nor will it ever be, other than as an abomination.

1 Cor. 6:9 - 10 has Paul preaching on carnal living there, too, and both the terms effeminate and abusers of themselves with mankind refers to living a homosexual lifestyle. He exhorted that those who lived in perverse lifestyles to repent and flee fornication and other such perverted carnal living later in the epistle. He further states in 1 Cor. 15:50 that corruption doesn't inherit incorruption. Those who have not been born again will not inherit the incorruption that is eternal life! He preaches one more time against homosexuality in 1 Tim. 1:9-10, Them that defile themselves with mankind refers to homosexuals, and these are among the rebels against God's law, whose punishment is hell and later, the lake of fire, the second death.

I would that all homosexuals and transgenderal people repent their lifestyles and what they have done, and return themselves to their nature and the natural way God intended them to be, because there is one more clear statement by God concerning those who rebel stiffneckedly to the end against His word concerning the homosexual lifestyle; "And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb's book of life." (Rev. 21:27)

Now in knowing God's will is that all would be saved, if you could convert an unsaved soul practicing this lifestyle to following Christ, if the Spirit is willing, I am persuaded that James 5:19 - 20, which is generally meant for people already Christians, can also be applied to these people, provided they are willing to be converted to believing in Christ and being born again. Indeed, if a gay person stop being prideful of his or her lifestyle, repent and turn to God, their multitude of sins is promised to be hidden in the precious blood of Jesus!

The Love Law

The Love Law

how many people do not know of the law to love, only God knows, but Jesus' law to love is plainly written in the gospel; "And, behold, a certain lawyer stood up, and tempted Him, saying, Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? And He said unto him, 'What is written in the law? How readest thou?' And he answering said, 'Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself.' And He said unto him, 'Thou hast answered right: this do, and thou shalt live.'" (Luke 10:25 - 28)

Even more, this is no ordinary law, but a royal law. 'Royal law?' One might say in surprise; " If ye fulfil the royal law according to the scripture, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself, ye do well: But if ye have respect to persons, ye commit sin, and are convinced of the law as transgressors." (James 2:8 - 9) It is royal because it was given us by our King, Jesus Christ! In this passage, it refers to someone poor. But the poor are not our only neighbors; there are also the desperate in Jesus' parable in Luke 10:29 - 37, and the weak in Gal. 5:13 - 15, and finally, it is revealed that everyone is our neighbor in Rom. 13:8 - 10. Sorry are so many people, for they cannot even love their brother, or sister, or uncle or cousin, or even parents and grandparents, let alone their neighbor, except maybe to commit adultery with them, and even in that, they break the law, both of them, concerning any spouses involved and the lack of marriage. It is easy to love someone in hopes that they may return something to you for it, but what kind of love is that, except a deception? And it is easy to love someone who gives you food, takes care of you financially, or clothes you, or houses you, and well it is, because they have indeed shown love to you. So how can one find it in themselves not to love back? But truly, it is hard to love someone who has done evil to you, or who behaves wickedly, and are these too your neighbor?

Let's first analyze love; what is it? What qualities does it have? "Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing. Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things." (1 Cor. 13:1 - 7) Certainly love, or charity as it's called in this passage, has many distinct, effable, noteworthy characteristics! Love is greater than anyone who has great knowledge, who can move mountains, or who has any other notable qualities about them. If that person does not have love, then it profits them nothing, because they then are in sin and violate the royal law. Love suffers long and is kind. Do you suppose that means we really love our spouse because we've been married all these years and have put up with all their indiscretions for all this time? Well, you may be smiling at this, but it's certainly on the right track! For as long as we know anyone, even someone who is a stranger at first, we are to treat them the same way we would ourselves. Do we treat our spouse less as well as we treat ourselves? We tend after their every need, if we can help it! It is mindboggling to imagine what the world would be like if everyone treated their neighbor as themselves. World hunger - GONE! War - NONE! Poverty - NONEXISTENT! How could poverty exist in an environemnt where everyone loves their neighbor to the point of clothing, feeding and housing one another? Unfortunately, too many people puff themselves up, and then they are not fostering love, but rather pride, and then wars result.

Love overcomes evil; "Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, 'Vengeance is mine; I will repay', saith the Lord. Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head. Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good." (Rom. 12:19 - 21) If you feed or give drink to an enemy, is this not love? So Paul is teaching here that love overcomes evil, and if not, the Lord will have His vengeance on His terms. But it is a hard heart that can repay good with evil. Oh, the many good qualities of love! It is not jealous, nor envious, and it is ever-forgiving, ever seeking to restore amicable relationships. So the answer to that question I posed in the second paragraph is yes, even the evil and wicked are our neighbors. Let's look at one more selection; "Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy. But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; that ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for He maketh His sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust. For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? Do not even the publicans the same? And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? Do not even the publicans so? Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect." (Matt. 5:43 - 48) As one understands the evil and wicked to typically be our enemies if we should interact with them, So Jesus says we are to love our enemies, even pray for them; for in praying we demonstrate love for them. And when we pray for them in private, as the Lord Jesus directed, then while our enemies do not see or know of our love for them on that plane, our Father hears our prayers and indeed does know when we demonstrate this form of love for our enemies.

You know, one of the fruits of the Spirit is love; " But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. Let us not be desirous of vain glory, provoking one another, envying one another." (Gal. 5:22 - 26) Note the quality "longsuffering" is also of the Spirit, just as love is. Also note that the new you who loves is not carnal in their love, but spiritual. 9 fruits of the Spirit, and the first and foremost is love.

Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love." (1 John 4:7 - 8) "And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him." (1 John 4:16) See that? John said it TWICE! God is love! It is His most encompassing quality! Anyone who hates a select group of people doesn't know God; the royal command from our Lord was to love, and if anyone go around hating this person and that one, then how is this a demonstration of being born again? " Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world." (1 John 4:1) "We are of God: he that knoweth God heareth us; he that is not of God heareth not us. Hereby know we the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error." (1 John 4:6) There will be some who say they know God, but under observation they will be found out. Whether they be false prophets or false believers, long observation will tell. Also, if we find a brother or sister in error saying or doing what would be hateful of another, and they not heed us when we try to reason with them, it would be as a sign that perhaps they are following the spirit of error. "If a man say, 'I love God', and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen? And this commandment have we from Him, That he who loveth God love his brother also." (1 John 4:20 - 21)

God's greatest demonstration of love toward us is the most famous verse in the bible; "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through Him might be saved." (John 3:16 - 17) All the world; every bit of mankind that God created He loves. What a travesty that so many people refuse to love Him back; refuse to believe in Him. One man I witnessed to of God actually demanded that I stop, because, in his words, talking about God was like "kiddie porn". If that soul has not identified himself as truly lost, I don't know how anyone could think maybe he might not be. Another woman I was witnessing to told me that if God judged her for using her mind in not believing the bible, then shame on Him, or her, or it! How profoundly does a person have to put it that they don't know God? She didn't even speak with any fear of Him! Yet, Jesus went to the cross, that even people like these two, perhaps at a later date, might have their eyes opened by the Spirit, believe in the love of God demonstrated on Calvary, and be saved.

Our love for our brothers and sisters should be particularly and consistently present in church; for we are in God's house! "Rebuke not an elder, but intreat him as a father; and the younger men as brethren; the elder women as mothers; the younger as sisters, with all purity." (1 Tim. 5:1 - 2) If we do have trouble between one of us and our brother or sister, loving church discipline is lined out in the gospel as well; "Moreover if thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone: if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother. But if he will not hear thee, then take with thee one or two more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established. And if he shall neglect to hear them, tell it unto the church: but if he neglect to hear the church, let him be unto thee as an heathen man and a publican." (Matt. 18:15 - 17)

Now here's a facet of the law of love anyone might have great difficulty with, because forgiveness is also a demonstration of love, and we are expected to forgive consistently, forever, and without malice; " Then came Peter to Him, and said, 'Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Till seven times?' Jesus saith unto him, 'I say not unto thee, "Until seven times": but, "Until seventy times seven..." "...So likewise shall My heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses." (Matt. 18:21 - 22, 35) Verses 23 - 34 were Jesus' story of a servant who was forgiven, but failed to forgive a fellowservant. The point is, we are expected to forgive a brother or sister for the same trespass against us, for as many times as they should ask, and even if they don't ask, for Christ did not stipulate that they had to ask. Let me give you a perfect example of how far this is to extend, and note in this passage that they had no intention of asking forgiveness! "Then they cried out with a loud voice, and stopped their ears, and ran upon him with one accord, and cast him out of the city, and stoned him: and the witnesses laid down their clothes at a young man's feet, whose name was Saul. And they stoned Stephen, calling upon God, and saying, 'Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.' And he kneeled down, and cried with a loud voice, 'Lord, lay not this sin to their charge.' And when he had said this, he fell asleep." (Acts 7:57 - 60) How many people do you know that you believe would proclaim forgiveness in this manner as people were killing them? Stephen followed Christ's own example: "And the men that held Jesus mocked Him, and smote Him. And when they had blindfolded Him, they struck Him on the face, and asked Him, saying, 'Prophesy, who is it that smote Thee?' And many other things blasphemously spake they against Him...And when they were come to the place, which is called Calvary, there they crucified Him, and the malefactors, one on the right hand, and the other on the left. Then said Jesus, 'Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.' And they parted His raiment, and cast lots." (Luke 22:63 - 65, 23:33 - 34)

So let us try to be like Christ, and like Stephen; there will be plenty of tests through our lifetime. Maybe not to the death, as in these two examples, but let us pass the test for as many times as we are tested, and if we fail; try again! As it is written, "Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?" (2 Cor. 13:5) If we fail and sin against this commandment, we know what to do; pray, confess, realize that He is faithful to forgive, and try to pass the test next opportunity!